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From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Prof. Godwin Avwioro has described medical laboratory as the backbone of health care in Nigeria but lamented that it is beset with enormous challenges, making it comatose.
The don spoke at the fourth Medical Laboratory Science induction ceremony of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo,
Avwioro, professor of Histochemistry and Histopathology at the Delta State University, who spoke on the theme: “Revitalising Medical Laboratory Systems in Nigeria: A strategic driver for a healthier and wealthier nation” said medical laboratory systems are the diagnostic backbone of any healthcare system.
“Medical laboratories contribute over 70 percent of clinical decision-making data, enabling early disease detection, monitoring and public health surveillance.”
However, he pointed out that “these systems face critical challenges that hinder their ability to deliver accurate, timely and reliable diagnostic services.”
He listed the challenges to include, among others, outdated equipment and poor biosafety, weak digital integration and frequent power outages, undervalued and underfunded sector, brain drain due to poor working conditions, limited training in advanced diagnostics, low pay, high workload and lack of career growth.
Meanwhile, the head, Department of Nursing Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Adesola Ogunfowokan has attributed frequent migration of nurses from Nigeria to other countries of the world to low wages, limited opportunities, lack of resources to work effectively, unstable economy, dangerous working conditions and poor funded health care system.
The don stated this at the fifth induction ceremony into the nursing profession of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
The university teacher who spoke on the theme: “Nigerian nurses’ migration: Brain drain or brain gain” stressed the need for the Nigerian government to take good care of Nurses.
She stressed the need for better career prospects, higher income or attractive salaries, better employment contracts and great health safety for Nigerian Nurses.
To underscore the seriousness of Nigerian nurses’ migration, she said, “75,000 nurses migrated in 2017, 7,256 left between 2021 and 2022, and 42,000 exited the country between 2022 and 2024.”
The don added that “if this trend persists and population keeps growing, the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions will see little to no growth in their nurse to population ratio between 2023 and 2030”
Ogunfowokan said emigration of nurses might not completely be a bad idea as it is a global phenomenon and it is capable of bringing benefits such as “research collaboration, remittances to family members, friends, alma mater and health screening for citizens.”
However, she added that “ever since nurses have been migrating, the so-called gains have not really been evident in the country.”
